Emergency situations can arise in an instant causing destruction of localized communication resources and a lack of operable communication infrastructure. Systems that on a day to day basis co-exists and interoperate may suddenly face issues with infrastructure availability, lack of intercommunication between geographic regions, and a lack of crossover functionality between systems. Disasters, both man made and natural, may cause emergency resource personnel to be without coverage thus impeding rescue efforts. Even if partial infrastructure is available, the number of rescue personnel may not be sufficient to cover the disaster. Other potential emergency personnel, such as neighborhood volunteers, may have limited knowledge or no knowledge of communication systems.
Emergency operations planners and similar individuals need a means to rapidly move a quantity of radios to a given location and have the radios ready for use as quickly as possible using a minimum amount of equipment and process steps. In some instances it is also desirable to configure the radios prior to delivery so that the radios are operational immediately upon arrival.
The ability to acquire and establish a communication system quickly either by emergency personnel or local volunteers is highly desirable. Accordingly, there is a need for a rapidly deployable communication system.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.